The King’s Troop
Posted on Mar 30 2007 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
The distinct odor of horse manure hovered over St. John’s Wood this morning, a sign that the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery is afoot. Barracked and stabled here on and off since the Napoleonic wars, this regiment exists primarily for ceremonial functions. Their annual calendar includes the Lord Mayor’s Parade, Remembrance Day, and the Queen’s Birthday. We ocassionally here the echoing boom of their cannon fire from rehearsals over at Hyde Park.
The last three mornings 120 horses in training, some pulling artillery caissons with mounted cannons, have closed down traffic at the busy intersection of Wellington and Grove End. The quarter mile procession winds its way along Grove End to Abbey Road, turning to cross the famed zebra-striped crosswalk before passing in front of Abbey Road studios and disrupting traffic on into the morning fog.
Where do they go from here? I guess I’ll have to find out…
